"He's Chameleon, Comedian, Corinthian and Caricature"
An ode to David Bowie
It was only on Friday that I was joking with a friend that, sure David Bowie was probably some sort of immortal extraterrestrial being, he'd likely outlive us 18 year olds. With a heavy heart I realised how wrong we were this morning as I checked my twitter feed - the Starman is dead, ground control can no longer reach Major Tom. The world felt an awfully empty place as I wept bitterly before having to leave for school.
Everything Bowie did felt so iconic. He was a walking artistic masterpiece, constantly reinventing himself, the master of change.His hearts and minds reached out to the hearts and minds of countless people for over 50 years, and will continue to do so for long afterwards, Few artists have had the longevity Bowie has had, and still be able to come out with chart topping songs and albums, Most bands of the 60s and 70s gave up on putting out new music around the mid 90s, choosing instead to feed off nostalgia, something to which Bowie never succumbed.
But even I, someone born at the death of the last millennium, listen to Bowie's music, it's hard to escape how
timeless it feels. The emotions purveyed still ring true and feel relevant today. Many of his albums were released long before my birth, but listening to Rebel Rebel now, it still strikes a chord within me, Timeless music that transcends the decades is so rare to find, yet Bowie perfected this art.
The bands and singers Bowie has influenced, and
will influence years from now, are immeasurable. His influences (as showcased particularly on his 1973 cover album Pinups) have inspired and broadened the music tastes of many too. In my own case, were it not for seeing his cover of White Light/White Heat, it would've taken me much longer to ever come around to hearing The Velvet Underground.
It's impossible for me, or anyone, to measure the impact David Bowie has had on music, and pop culture in general. I was raised on his music, thanks to both of my parents, My dad spent much of my childhood talking about Ziggy Stardust and David Bowie to me (I would be seven before I figured out that they were the same person), dissecting in depth each lyric and instrumental.
I would be 12 before I truly explore Bowie for myself, seeing him perform Starman on a Top Of The Pops rerun. His bright orange hair and porcelain white skin made him look totally alien to me, dressed in a skintight leotard. I was mesmorised, I was obsessed, I stole all the albums of his my dad had and listened to nothing but him for days on end. (It was around this time a I also first watched Labyrinth, and found myself confronted with the infamous 'Bowie Bulge'. Love still prevailed)
At 16 I got a record player for my birthday, and with it I explored every record my parents still had while I waited to save up for a few of my own, Every Bowie album up until the mid 80s was now at my fingertips, in perfect condition. This included a copy of Station To Station that traveled from Turin to Dublin under my dad's arm in 1982, unscathed despite the long journey, flight delays and snowstorms in both Italy and Ireland. Afternoons were spent lying on my bed, doing naught else than catching up on almost fifty years of musical history.
It's hard to explain the importance of Bowie in my life, or in anyone else's for that matter, He was an outsider, a total alien (quite literally, as The Man Who Fell To Earth proved). There was unity, a sense of belonging in his music that appealed to my teenage self. There's nothing more comforting than hearing a mantra of
"you're not alone" blaring through your ears during those dark teenage years.
But ultimately, as the world was cruelly reminded this morning, even gods can be mortal. It's unlikely the world will ever see the likes of David Bowie again, and it is far the worse for his loss. But the curtain must close sometime, and the lights must come back on eventually.
"Perhaps you're smiling now,
Smiling through the darkness"
David Bowie
8/1/16 - 11/1/16
RIP
